The present invention relates to camera modules, and more particularly, to digital camera modules within a wireless communication device.
Portable electronic devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAS) and cellular telephones are becoming increasingly popular. Some of these devices have a built-in integrated digital camera module allowing the devices to take pictures.
The integrated camera module typically includes lens focusing a scene onto a digital imager. Further, the integrated camera module typically includes flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) interconnect (“flex interconnect”) connecting the camera module to other portions of the portable electronic device such as its application (host or main) processor. FPCBs are known in the industry and are usually made of copper laminated polyimid that has copper “wires,” or traces, and may have copper “lands” onto which passive components (such as resistors or capacitors, used for signal integrity, power supply filtering, or electro-magnetic interference (EMI) suppression) or an active component (such as a voltage regulator), or an integrated circuit (IC, here, imaging IC) is attached, or combinations of such.
Often, the integrated camera module is packaged within a portable electronic device package (for example, a cellular telephone) having a fixed direction either toward or away from the person using the cellular telephone. For simplicity of discussion, a cellular telephone is used herein this document as the example portable electronic device.
To provide an ability to take pictures in the opposite direction (compared to the fixed direction), the integrated camera module needs to be flipped or rotated. In fact, some portable electronic devices include a rotating mechanism to allow its integrated camera module to take pictures in opposing directions. However, such mechanical rotators or flipping hinges add complexity and costs to the cellular telephone. Moreover, such mechanical systems decrease reliability of the cellular telephone.
Another approach to provide the ability to take pictures in the opposite direction (compared to the fixed direction) is to provide two integrated camera modules—the first module facing toward the user and the second module facing away from the user. However, this approach leads to the doubling of the camera module portion of the costs, doubles the area and connection requirements for the integrated camera modules within the cellular telephone (because an attachment are made to connect each module separately) thereby reducing reliability, increasing assembly time, and increases adverse electronic consequences within the cellular phone. These include, for example, increased power usage (due to redundant flex interconnect associated bus loading) and increased electromagnetic interference (EMI) and increased electrical overstress (EOS) susceptibility (due to the multiple flex interconnects acting as multiple antennas).
Accordingly, there remains a need for a device that eliminates or alleviates these shortcomings.